*
U.S. weekly jobless claims rise more than expected
*
Dollar slips from near multi-month highs
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U.S. Feb jobs data due on Friday
(Adds analyst's comments and updates prices)
By Bharat Gautam
March 9 (Reuters) - Gold jumped on Thursday as the
dollar retreated, after data showed U.S. jobless claims grew
more than expected last week, providing some hope to investors
that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes could be less
aggressive than feared.
Spot gold gained 1.1% to $1,832.75 per ounce, as of
2:19 p.m. ET (1919 GMT). U.S. gold futures rose 0.9% to
settle at $1,834.60.
"Gold has had a rough week because of what (Jerome) Powell
said on raising rates... but the significant increase in jobless
claims has gold trading higher", along with a weaker dollar,
said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
benefits increased by the most in five months last week, but the
underlying trend remained consistent with a tight labor market.
The dollar index slipped 0.4%, making bullion a more
attractive bet. "The fact that we're possibly starting to see a crack in
labor numbers is having gold traders thinking maybe the Fed
can't do a half-basis-point hike at the next meeting," Haberkorn
said, adding that a big miss in nonfarm payrolls (NFP) numbers
on Friday can send gold higher through $1,850.
On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed his message of higher and potentially faster interest rate hikes, but emphasized that debate was still underway with a decision hinging on data to be issued before the U.S. central bank's policy meeting in two weeks. "If you're a bull, you're rooting for softer-than-expected U.S. data into the FOMC meeting. The opposite will likely force downside re-tests of $1,788 for gold and $19.00 for silver," Erik Bregar, Director, FX & Precious Metals Risk Management at Silver Gold Bull Inc told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.
Spot silver gained 0.6% at $20.12 per ounce, platinum rose 0.8% to $945.02 and palladium added 2.1% to $1,401.53. (Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam, Ashitha Shivaprasad and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
